What if I told you that food can be both nourishing and enjoyable!?! That's right...It doesn't have to be bland, boring, or restrictive in order for it to be good for us.

In fact, I believe God created food for our enjoyment! If we took a look around our groceries produce section
for example, we could clearly see that God created food to be satisfying to our senses. Have you
ever stopped and noticed all of the colors, smells, tastes, and visually beautiful food He created
for us to nourish our bodies with?

Despite the fact that God created food to be good, I believe that many of us have a distorted view of food. This could be a result of diets, disordered eating, issues with our weight, or
because of something in our past. Much like we did with the health of our souls, let’s take a moment to dig up any misconceived thought patterns we have about food and lay a new foundation
for nourishing our bodies based on God’s design.

One of the best ways to abolish misconceptions is by replacing them with practical facts.
Unfortunately, the over abundance of information available today as it relates to food and nutrition often leaves us feeling uncertain about what actions to take. In order to optimize the way
that we view our food and bodies, we first need to counter many of the misunderstandings we
have accumulated over the years.

Many of the skewed perceptions that we have about food come from the diet industry. As
I mentioned in previous chapters, the problem with diets is that they are always changing, making it nearly impossible to distinguish fact from theory.

In addition, diets are often impossible to maintain long-term, which is a guaranteed recipe
for failure. If you have ever taken a ride on the diet roller coaster, you may already know that the
results produced from a diet are just that... a high (hooray, I’ve lost weight) followed by an inevitable low (oh no, I’ve gained the weight back and then some).

This reoccurring failure rate is the reason that the diet industry produces billions of dollars each year. The worst part of all is that the money invested into these “quick fixes” often
comes from well-meaning people that want to improve their health. Because so many people are
overwhelmed and confused about how to do so, they often buy into the false promises that are
made. If you can identify as being one of the people who have tried countless diets and failed,
take heart, because there is a better way!

Now, before I go any further, I want to start by saying that I am not against having a plan.
In fact, I believe that planning and setting goals are beneficial and necessary when we set out to
make a change. I also want to clarify that I am not against diets that people must go on in regards
to food intolerances, allergies, etc., and I am certainly not against programs or tools that help
people live a healthy lifestyle long term.

What I am in disagreement with, however, is the latest diets that promote an unhealthy
and unbalanced approach to losing weight. Why am I personally so against diets? There are
countless reasons, but one of the main one reasons is that I have seen the vicious cycle of defeat
that they have produced in countless women. I also can also speak from a place of personal experience when it comes to dieting, because as I mentioned, I myself bought into many of the unhealthy diet trends when I was battling eating disorders.

I’ll never forget when someone innocently shared the false (and incomplete) theory with
me that bread makes a person gain weight. In my desperate attempt to control my weight, I decided that if cutting out bread would make me skinnier, then I would cut out all carbohydrates all
together. This example demonstrates how a theory (that may have some truth to it) can be taken
to an unhealthy extreme in an effort to produce quick results.

I believe that this is how many diet trends begin. There may be some truth to a principal,
but it is often taken to an extreme in order to produce instant gratification. The reality of all unbalanced theories however, is that they are all bound to produce failure and defeat in the long
run. Excerpt from my new book Nourish.

Written by Katie Farrell

Katie's greatest passions are the Lord, family, and ministry. It is Katie’s greatest desire to teach women about their identity in Christ and to inspire them to find a balance between spiritual and physical health, all while enjoying the journey!